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Halloween party food for all the family

October 4, 2021
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Halloween and Bonfire Night were largely damp squibs in 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 restrictions that were in place. Happily, this year looks set to be very different, so it’s time to get ghoulish and prepare to party! Halloween is an occasion that embraces all ages, so it’s a great

 opportunity to gather friends and family together for some fabulously fiendish fun. Worried you’re out of practice at hosting? Don’t worry, national trainer Jo has put together this selection of easy Halloween party food ideas that will impress your guests, without heaps of stress.

Cheesy broomsticks

Cheesy Broomsticks

This amazingly inventive recipe, from GoodtoKnow, is one of my favourite hors d’oeuvres ever. This clever little vegetarian appetizer is so easy to prepare, it hardly constitutes a recipe at all. It doesn’t even require any cooking! Using just three ingredients (cheese, chives and pretzel sticks), you simply assemble, then stand back and wait for the compliments to roll in.

Better still, encourage any children present to put them together, while you put your feet up with a perfect cup of coffee from our CM465GM Sense Built-In Coffee Machine. However you enjoy your favourite brew, this super-stylish appliance delivers – literally – serving up a variety of hot drinks including espresso and frothy cappuccino with five strengths to choose from. The coffee grinder has thirteen settings, so you can determine exactly how finely your coffee beans are ground.

Halloween party food butternut squash soup

Halloween party food butternut squash soup

Most of us choose pumpkins to embrace our inner orange, but this Halloween party food recipe, from Don’t Go Bacon My Heart, uses butternut squash instead. This rich, delicious soup is the perfect way to warm up everyone after Trick or Treating. The key is to roast the squash low and slow. This method releases the natural sugars, which then caramelise – sublime!

Our C2105 Sense Electric Soft Close Oven roasts anything and everything to perfection, thanks to its MotionHeat+ fan. This model reaches the right temperature rapidly, distributes hot air evenly and prevents flavour transfer. I like to transform this humble bowl of soup into a seasonal showstopper with a spiderweb topping. It’s easier than it looks, I promise! Using a piping bag, simply drizzle some natural yoghurt into a spiral pattern on top of your soup. Then draw eight lines with a cocktail stick from the centre outwards.

Zombie bones bread

Bread might not be the first thing that springs to mind for Halloween party food, but this Cheesy bones recipe, from Sainsbury’s, looks and tastes suitably spooktacular.

Zombie bones bread

Smart Technology Oven and Steam Oven in Stainless Steel

A lot of people find the idea of baking their own bread a little daunting, but our C2600 Sense Premium Electric Pyrolytic Oven makes everything so simple. It even includes a specialist Proving function for your dough, which maintains the temperature at a constant 30°C. Filled with melted mozzarella and roasted garlic, these bone-shaped loaves will ward off any vampires. They are the perfect accompaniment to the spiderweb butternut squash soup, but also work well as an excellent stand-alone snack.

I like to serve these with a blood-red dip. Pretty much any basic tomato sauce recipe, such as this one from The River Café, is suitable. Featuring DirectHeat+, our C789G Gas-On-Glass Hob would make short work of preparing this. This technology is all about precise direction, sending the heat upwards, straight to the base of your pan, via a 45°-inclined flame. This minimises heat loss, bringing food to temperature quickly, while saving you money and energy.

Spider devilled eggs for Halloween party food

Spider devilled eggs for Halloween party food

Retro recipes often work well for Halloween party food. These Devilled Eggs, courtesy of kitchen queen Nigella Lawson, are effective on so many levels. Arachnophobes, look away now! I like to give this dish an extra terrifying twist with spiders made from halved olives. This recipe uses 12 large eggs, with some very specific timings, but help is at hand.

Our new C897i Induction Hob incorporates programmable timers for its five induction zones. This ensures precise cooking durations and you can even set finishing times. So you can be supremely confident of boiling all your eggs to perfection! This sleek, chic hob also includes bridgeable functions to accommodate large pans when cooking for a crowd.

Halloween mummy hot dogs

Halloween mummy hot dogs

If you’re short on time – or energy – my next Halloween party food recipe delivers maximum results with minimum effort. BBC Good Food’s Halloween mummy hot dogs are easy, fun and terrifically tasty. The ‘bandages’ are actually croissant dough, while the ‘mummy’ is a chipolata sausage – genius! All you really have to do is assemble the marinade, cut and roll the ready-made croissant dough, wrap and bake.

Our SO111GM Sense Built-In Combination Steam Oven would be ideal for this. This versatile appliance offers so many options in terms of functionality, combined with an A+ energy rating and a roomy 40-litre capacity. I would choose the combination fan and steam setting for this recipe, as it will make the pastry extra buttery!

Halloween witches’ fingers

Halloween witches’ fingers

No round-up of Halloween party food would be complete without including something sweet. So may I present this recipe for Halloween witches’ fingers, which look appropriately gruesome, but taste divine. These witty biscuits take just 10-15 minutes to bake, although the dough does need to rest in the fridge for about an hour first. The fingernails are actually almonds. The ‘blood’ at the dismembered end is simply red icing.

For an even bake, I would recommend our C3371 Sense Electric Double Oven. With a very generous total capacity of 101 litres (top and bottom), it’s perfect if you’re cooking for a party. There’s a suitably large viewing window, so you can keep an eye on your baking without needing to open the door. Best of all, two pairs of handy, full-extension telescopic runners provide instant easy access – and keep your own fingers from getting burned!

Black Double Oven

 

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